COMPILED WITH THE KIND ASSISTANCE OF THE CHIPPING NORTON MUSEUM

CYRIL ERNEST BARRETT was serving as a Private in the Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire Light Infantry and with No 3 Commando (1 Troop). He was killed in action during the ill-fated Dieppe Raid on the 19th August 1942 aged 22 and is commemorated on the Brookwood Memorial in Surrey having no known grave. He was the son of Joseph and Ann Barrett of 19 Middle Row, Chipping Norton and married to Margaret of Oakville, Canada.

In August 1942 No. 3 Commando was involved in the ill-fated Operation Jubilee, an exploratory raid on Dieppe in France. The plan called for a frontal assault on the port by the Canadian 2nd Division. Before this would take place, however, Troops from No. 3 and 4 Commandos would land at beaches on the eastern and western flanks and neutralise two German artillery batteries that were covering the main anchorage. No. 3 Commando was assigned the task of attacking the Goebbels Battery, landing on the eastern flank. The battery was located near Berneval-le-Grand, about half a mile from the sea with steep cliffs in front of it. It was decided that No. 3 Commando would land on two beaches to the east and west of the battery, from which gullies rose towards the battery and which would provide concealment while the commandos approached.

As the convoy of landing craft and other vessels ferried the commandos across the English Channel, however, they had a chance encounter with a German tanker escorted by a number of armed trawlers which proceeded to fire upon them. In the confusion that followed a number of the landing craft were damaged and forced to turn back, while others were reported as missing and believed sunk. As a result the decision was made to abandon the attack.

Nevertheless, unbeknown to their commanders and each other, and having lost communications, the seven landing craft that had been reported missing made for their assigned beaches, determined to press on with the attack. In the end two parties landed, one party consisting of six craft carrying approximately 120 men landed on the beach opposite Le Petit Berneval to the east of the battery—Yellow I—while the other, consisting of only one craft of 20 men from No. 6 Troop landed to the west at Yellow II.

Of the 120 men that landed at Yellow I, 37 were killed, 81 were captured, mostly after having been wounded, and just one managed to evade capture and return to Britain.

ERNEST EDWARD BOWSER was serving as a Private in the 4th Battalion, The Parachute Regiment when he was killed in action on 27th October 1944 during Operation Manna, the airborne capture of Megara airfield near Athens, Greece. He was aged 25. He was the son of Ernest and Alice Bowser, having been born in Plaistow in Essex. At the time of his death he was living at 1 Alfred Terrace, Chipping Norton. His father won the Military medal for bravery in the field, whilst serving with the Royal Artillery in World War One. He is not mentioned on the town war memorial.

JOHN CAPEL BUTLER was serving as a Private with 7th Battalion, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry when he was killed in action during the Battle of Monte Cassino 23rd January 1944 aged 28. He is commemorated on the Cassino Memorial, Italy for 4000 allied soldiers with no known grave. He was the son of Herman and Emily Butler and married Ivy Barnes of Bloxham in 1940.

He is also commemorated on the Bloxham war memorial.

The Battle of Monte Cassino was a costly series of four assaults by the Allies against the Winter Line in Italy held by the Germans and Italians during the Italian Campaign with the intention to breakthrough to Rome. At the beginning of 1944, the western half of the Winter Line was being anchored by Germans holding the Rapido, Liri and Garigliano valleys and some of the surrounding peaks and ridges. Together, these features formed the Gustav Line. Monte Cassino, a historic hilltop abbey dominated the nearby town of Cassino and the entrances to the Liri and Rapido valleys, but had been left unoccupied by the German defenders. The Germans had, however, manned some positions set into the steep slopes below the abbey's walls.

Fearing that the abbey did form part of the Germans' defensive line, primarily as a lookout post, the Allies sanctioned its bombing on 15 February and American bombers proceeded to drop 1,400 tons of bombs onto it. The destruction and rubble left by the bombing raid now provided better protection from aerial and artillery attacks, so, two days later, German Paratroopers took up positions in the abbey's ruins. Between 17 January and 18 May, Monte Cassino and the Gustav defences were assaulted four times by Allied troops, the last involving twenty divisions attacking along a twenty-mile front. The German defenders were finally driven from their positions, but at a high cost. 7000 men of the 7th Ox & Bucks landed in Salerno and Anzio in September 1943 and by the end of the year only 100 men remained at the roll call.

PETER JOHN CALLAHAN was serving as a Lieutenant with the Royal Armoured Corps (3rd Reconnaissance Regiment) formed out ofB Squadron, 3rd (8th Battalion, The Royal Northumberland Fusiliers) Regiment , when he was killed in action on 20th September 1944 on his 20th birthday. He is buried in Leopoldsburg Military Cemetery, Belgium and was the son of John and Daisy Callahan of Chipping Norton, and before the war had worked for Barclay's bank. He was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant on 12th December 1943 and promoted to Lieutenant on 12th June 1944.

The 3rd Reconnaissance Regiment landed on Sword beach as part of the 3rd Infantry Division and fought throughout the campaign in North-West Europe.

SIDNEY ERIC DEE was serving as a Driver with the Royal Army Service Corps when he died on 16th March 1946 in Chipping Norton aged 33. He is buried in Chipping Norton Cemetery. He married May Mills in 1932 in Chipping Norton and was Father of two children, Edith Rose and Freda.

WILLIAM ALFRED FREEBORN was serving as a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve when he died of natural causes on 31st July 1944. He was aged 33 and is buried in Largo cemetery, Fifeshire.

He was the son of George and Alice Freeborn of Market Street, Chipping Norton. He worked as an engineer, visiting Australia and Canada. He married to May Maclennan and lived at Roselea, Lower Largo, Fifeshire.

He joined the RNVR Clyde Division in April 1937 and was made a temporary sub-Lieutenant on 1st May 1940. He served on the Janethea IV, below, a motor launch requisitioned by the Navy as a coastal patrol vessel. As HMS Corax she assisted in the Dunkirk evacuation.

He then commanded HMS Elsie Cam, a mine sweeping trawler from August 1941 until September 1943 and was promoted Lieutenant in March 1942. He then commanded HMS Motor Minesweeper 44, (below), until 1st December 1943.

He was attached to HMS Victory Training Establishment when he was diagnosed with cancer and died at his home on 31st July 1944.

HORACE GARDNER was serving as a Stoker 1st class with the Royal Navy on board the light-cruiser HMS Fiji and died on the 23rd May 1941 aged 44 when she was sunk South West of Crete by German bombers.He is commemorated on the Portsmouth Naval Memorial. He was the son of Wilfred and Maud Mary Gardner and married Hilda May Taylor in Chipping Norton in 1931. In 1938 he received the Royal Navy Long Service and Good Conduct award whilst serving as a stoker on HMS Vernon.

Fiji was launched on 31 May 1939 and was the first of the Crown Colony class to enter service. Fiji class as a consequence. She was commissioned on 5 May 1940, and initially joined the Home Fleet. On 31 August 1940 she sailed for the African Atlantic coast to take part in Operation Menace, the attack on Dakar. Before she could join the task force, Fiji was damaged by a torpedo from a U-Boat on 1 September and had to return to Britain for repairs, which lasted for the next six months. She was fitted with radar and her Anti-Aircraft armament was increased. She returned to service in March 1941 and was assigned to patrol the Denmark Strait for German raiders. In April she was reassigned to Force H to blockade the German heavy ships then stationed at Brest. With Force H, she sailed into the Mediterranean to support operations to relieve Malta.

On completion of these duties she participated in the Battle of Crete. On 22 May 1941 she was acting in company with the destroyers HMS Kandahar and HMS Kingston shortly after the loss of HMS Gloucester. These ships fought on and shot down one attacker and damaged two others. She finally expended all of her AA ammunition fighting off numerous air attacks that persisted for two hours. She was attacked and hit by several bombs from Messerschmitt Bf 109s before an aircraft of Jagdgeschwader 77 dropped a bomb close alongside to port. This blew in Fiji’s bottom plates and caused a list to port. Fiji lost power and came to a standstill. She was now largely defenceless, having practically exhausted her 4 inch ammunition. She was then hit by three bombs dropped by a Junkers Ju 88 from Lehrgeschwader 1 piloted by Gerhard Brenner. Captain Peveril William-Powlett gave the order to abandon ship and at 2015 Fiji rolled over and sank. The destroyers dropped floats and withdrew to the south. They returned after dark to pick up 523 survivors. 241 men had gone down with the ship.

LESLIE CHRISTOPHER GILBERT was serving as a Gunner with the 135th (Hertfordshire Yeomanry) Field Regiment, The Royal Artillery when he died on 21st September 1944 aged 28. He was on the Japanese ship Hofuku Maru carrying Allied prisoners of war. He was born in Chipping Norton, the son of Christopher and Frances Gilbert and had married Beryl Shepard in 1939, and lived at 5, Pembridge Terrace, Chipping Norton. He is commemorated on the Singapore Memorial, for those with no known grave.

The 135th were a Territorial regiment based in Macclesfield. In October 1941 they boarded the Polish ship "Sobieski" (below) at Gourock in Scotland, as part of the 18th (East Anglian Infantry) Infantry Division and sailed across the Atlantic in convoy, in somewhat cramped conditions, to the Canadian port of Halifax.

There they boarded the USS Mount Vernon, a converted passenger liner, with better conditions and food, but still packed with 9,00 troops aboard. She sailed from Halifax in November 1941, dodging a U-boat pack and making first landfall at Cape Town. During the Atlantic crossing the ships company learnt of the attack on Pearl Harbour and the United States entry into the war, which lifted the spirits of the men. During the two day stop over they enjoyed the hospitality of the Cape Town residents before sailing on to Bombay. They arrived at their destination, Singapore , on 13th January 1942, during a tropical rain storm, which protected the disembarking troops from Japanese bombers, which had been carrying out massed raids on the town.

Based on a rubber plantation near the causeway that linked Singapore Island with the mainland, they were soon in action to defend the Malay Peninsula and had some success before falling back on the island.They continued the action on Singapore Island before they had to destroy their guns and surrender to the Japanese on 15th February 1942. Their commanding officer was Lieutenant-Colonel Peter Toosey, who defied orders to evacuate from Singapore, to remain with his men in captivity. The men, including Leslie Gilbert, were sent to Tamarkan camp in Thailand to build rail bridges over the Khwae Noi River, part of the "Death Railway" from Bankok to Rangoon. (Colonel Nicholson in the book and film "Bridge over the River Kwai" was based on Peter Toosey, although unlike his fictional counterpart he never collaborated with the Japanese.)

After the completion of the bridges the so-called fit men were put aboard the Hofuku Maru, a tramp steamer (below), to work on the Japanese mainland. About 1,200 prisoners were crammed into 2 holds with not enough room to lie down all at once. Food was meagre, about a cup of rice a day, barely enough water and sanitary conditions appalling.

She sailed from Singapore to Miri, Borneo, on 4th July 1944, as part of convoy SHIMI-05 consisting of 10 ships, 5 of which carried, in total, 5,000 POWs. At Borneo, the Hofuku Maru left the convoy with engine problems, and sailed on to the Philippines, arriving on July 19th. She remained in Manila until mid-September while the engines were repaired. The POWs remained on board, suffering terribly from disease, such as beri-beri, hunger, and thirst. Around 90% of the prisoners were reckoned to be incapacitated by illness. On September 20 1944, the Hofuku Maru and 10 other ships formed Convoy MATA-27, and sailed from Manila to Japan. The following morning, the convoy was attacked 80 miles north of Corregidor by more than 100 American carrier planes. All eleven ships in the convoy were sunk. The Hofuku Maru was hit by three bombs and sank in under 5 minutes with most of the prisoners unable to escape from the holds, 1,047 of the 1,289 British and Dutch POWs on board died, including Chipping Norton's Leslie Gilbert.

LESLIE ROBERT HARRIS was serving as a Corporal with the Gordon Highlanders, he had previously with the Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, when he died 24th August 1944 aged 24. He had landed with the Gordons on Sword beach on 6th June 1944. He is buried in Hermanville War Cemetery (behind Sword Beach). He was the son of Lizzie Harris of Ragland Way, Chipping Norton and had married Gertrude Irene Hodson from Wellingborough only a few months before his death.

THOMAS JAMES HARRIS was serving as a Gunner in the Royal Artillery 64 (The Queen's Own Royal Glasgow Yeomanry) Anti- tank Regiment when he was killed in action 17th May 1943 aged 39 during the North Africa Campaign. He is buried in Medjez-El-Bab War cemetery in Tunisia. He married Mary Whitehead in Brackley in 1935 and had two sons and two daughters.

64th (Queens Own Royal Glasgow Yeomanry) Anti-Tank Regiment Royal Artillery were a Territorial Army Unit mobilised in September 1939 they remained in the United Kingdom as part of the 15th (Scottish) Division until March 1942 when they moved to North Africa with the 78th Division. The 78th was formed specifically for Operation Torch from regular British Army units, landing at Algiers in 1942. Thereafter it continued in Tunisia, then through to the Sicily, up the length of Italy, arriving in Austria for the end of the war.

VICTOR PERCIVAL HARRIS was serving as a Lance-Corporal with the Royal Marines Mobile Naval Base Defence Organization (Landing) when he died of wounds received and from small pox on 22nd June 1943 aged 23. He is buried in Fayid War cemetery Egypt and was the son of Phillip and Fanny Harris of 2 Market Street, Chipping Norton. He was a member of The Chipping Norton Temperance Brass Band.

The function of the M.N.B.D.O. was to provide the Fleet with a base in any part of the world, whether on the coast of a mainland or an island, within a week, and to defend it when prepared. The Unit was carried in specially equipped merchant vessels. The landing group is responsible for the collection of the required material, and for putting it ashore in landing craft, and also the transporting of it once it has been landed. The Group then completes its function by building wharves or converting existing jetties, making roadways from the beach, and erecting such buildings as may be necessary. The defence side of the Organization is divided into artillery groups with naval coastal guns, anti-aircraft and anti-tank guns, and searchlights all to co-operate with each other. It has a Land defence Force consisting of rifle companies, machine gun sections and light artillery batteries.

PHILLIP LIONEL BERNARD HIATT was serving as a Gunner in the 8th Medium Regimen, Royal Artillery, when he was killed in action during the Battle of Imphal on 8th May 1944, aged 20. He is buried in Imphal War Cemetery, India and was the son of of Ernest and Linda Hiatt, of Chipping Norton.He is also commemorated on the Over Norton war memorial.

The 8th Medium Regiment was formed in India in 1941 and moved into Burma in 1943 where it remained to the end of the war. were equipped in 1943 with the 5.5 inch gun. They were part of the 4th India Corps in Imphal, Assam, India.

The Battle of Imphal took place in the region around the city of Imphal, the capital of the state of Manipur in North-East India from March until July 1944. Japanese armies attempted to destroy the Allied forces at Imphal and invade India, but were driven back into Burma with heavy losses. Together with the simultaneous Battle of Kohima on the road by which the encircled Allied forces at Imphal were relieved, the battle was the turning point of the Burma Campaign, part of the South-East Asian Theatre of the Second World War.

GEORGE LEONARD HOLTOM was serving as an Ordinary Seaman in the Royal Navy when he was killed in action on 8th November 1944 aged 19. He is buried in Bergen-op-Zoom War Cemetery, Netherlands.

He was educated at Kingham Hill School and had worked at Craft's Mill before the war. He was aboard HM Motor Launch 916, a Fairmile type B vessel, when she hit a mine whilst participating in the Battle of Walcheren Causeway during the liberation of the Netherlands.

The first Fairmile Type B motor launch (below) was completed in September 1940 and some 650 were produced during the war. Initially designed as submarine chasers they went on to fill many roles including gunboat, motor torpedo boat and minesweeper. After the war many were turned into pleasure craft and a few still survive.

After the breakout from Normandy by the Allied armies, beginning August 13, 1944, the German forces held on stubbornly to the French and Belgian English Channel ports. This forced the Allies to bring all supplies for their rapidly advancing armies from the artificial harbour they had constructed off the beaches of Normandy, and from Cherbourg. Because of its port capacity Antwerp became the immediate objective of the British 21st Army Group commanded by Bernard Montgomery. While Antwerp fell to Montgomery on September 4th no supplies could be landed there until the German forces holding the lower reaches of the Scheldt, between Antwerp and the North Sea, were removed. Because the Allies had to secure a port of the capacity of Antwerp before they could contemplate the invasion of Germany itself, the Battle of the Scheldt involved some of the most bitter fighting of the war.Operation Infatuate, the codename for the invasion of the Dutch Island of Walcheren, was a major Combined Operation's amphibious landing against very heavily fortified and entrenched German positions. The island stood at the mouth of the River Scheldt and blocked Allied access to the captured port of Antwerp some 60 kilometres inland which was needed to supply the advancing Allied armies.

RONALD JACQUES was serving as a Flying Officer Navigator with 463 Squadron Royal Australian Air Force, as part of the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, and was killed in action when his Lancaster was shot down over Belgium on 11th May 1944. He was aged 28 and is buried in Wevelgem Communal Cemetery in Belgium. He was born in November 1914 and was the son of Jack and Mary Anne Jacques, licensees of the Kings Arms, 18, West Street, Chipping Norton.

He took off from RAF Waddington at 2200 aboard Avro Lancaster Mk 1 serial no LL882, JO-J,FH to bomb marshalling yards Lille in France. The other crew members were:

Squadron Leader Mervyn Powell DFC RAAF Pilot

Flight Lieutenant William Read RAAF Air Gunner

Flight Lieutenant Robert Croft RAAF Rear Gunner

Flying Officer David Croston RAAF Air Gunner

Flight Sergeant Bertram Fraser RAF Bomb Aimer

Sergeant Harry Molyneux RAF Flight Engineer

His plane was shot down by a night fighter and crashed into a flooded clay pit at a brickworks in Langemarck in Belgium killing all aboard. The wreckage was recovered from the pit after it was drained (below).

He is not on the town war memorial, but will be added this year.

JOHN HAROLD JEFFRIES was serving a Sergeant, Flight Engineer in the Royal Air Force 10 Squadron when he was missing in action on 26th February 1942 during an attack on the floating dock at Kiel. He was aged 21 and is commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial, Surrey for aircrews lost over Europe with no known grave. He took off from RAF Lemming, North Yorkshire at 1823 in Handley Page Halifax mark 11, ZA-M V9986 . He was the son of William Cyril and Doris Jeffries of 34 New Street, Chipping Norton. John Jeffries joined the Royal Air Force from school as a "brat", part of the 33rd entry at No 1 School Technical Training at RAF Halton.

The rest of the crew of the Halifax were;

Flight Sergeant Ernest Wieland

Flight Sergeant John Bissett RCAF

Sergeant Clifford Darwin

Sergeant Edward Simmons

Sergeant William Glanville

Sergeant John Westland

LESLIE WILLIAM JOHN KING DFC was serving as a Flying Officer, Flight Engineer with 617 Squadron, The Royal Air Force when he was killed in action on 24th June 1944. He was aged 30 and is buried in Longuenesse St Omer Souvenir Cemetery in the Pas de Calais.

He was the son of William and Emily Maria King, of Enstone, at the time of his death his parents had moved to Chipping Norton.

He had joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve in September 1939 at RAF Uxbridge and trained as an engine fitter on ground crew. In September 1942 he joined 57 Squadron and had qualified as a Flight Engineer with the rank of Sergeant. They were based at RAF Scampton flying the Vickers Wellington Mk111, converting to the Avro Lancaster from September 1942. He was promoted to Flight Sergeant and took part in the famous low level raid on the Schneider factory at Le Creusot, on 17th October 1942, being seriously wounded when a bird strike shattered part of his windscreen. He was hospitalised until January 1943. Returning to operations he was commissioned as a Pilot Officer on 9th May 1943 and by September that year had completed 29 missions with 57 Squadron, including raids on Wilhemshaven, Nuremberg, Cologne, Hamburg, Munich, Essen and Spezia in Italy. In October that year he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his persistent achievements but citing the incident in October 1942:

"As flight engineer Pilot Officer King has completed many sorties and displayed skill and keeness of a high order. One one occasion, at an early stage of a daylight sortie on Le Creusot, Pilot officer King was badly injured in the face by flying splinters when the windscreen of his aircraft was shattered. Although in considerable pain and unable to see, this gallant flight engineer refused to allow other members of the crew to leave their stations and come to his aid. During the remainder of the flight he showed great fortitude and constantly attempted to render assistance. His courageous example proved most inspiring. Upon recovery, Pilot Officer King resumed operations and has executed his duty with rare zeal"

He spent a time in early November 1943 with 1168 Heavy Conversion Unit at RAF Balderton, training crews converting to the Lancaster. On 14th November he joined 617 Squadron, picked by Wing Commander Leonard Cheshire who had been his pilot at 1168 HCU, for his personal crew. Based at RAF Coningsby the rest of 1944 was spent on training flights. In January 1944 the Squadron moved to RAF Woodhall Spa carrying out several raids on France. Bill King was promoted to Flying Officer on 25th January.

The squadron now began a series of accurate attacks on industrial targets in occupied Europe. An aircraft factory at Albert was attacked on 2nd/3rd March, the La Ricamerie factory was attacked on 10th/11th March, the Michelin tyre factory at Clermond-Ferrand on 16th/17th March, an explosives factory at Bergerac on 18th/19th March and another at Angoulême on 20th/21st March, an aircraft engine factory at Lyons on 23rd/24th March.

Bill King, extreme left with Leonard Cheshire's crew

Wing Commander Cheshire along with Bill King as his flight engineer had been using their Lancaster to mark targets but in April 1944 Cheshire was presented with a single seat Mustang fighter by the Americans, which he successfully used to mark targets. As F/O King was now redundant he was transferred to the crew of Flight Lieutenant John Edward DFC. On June 5th and 6th they were involved in "Operation Taxable" to deceive the Germans into thinking the Allied invasion was taking place in the Pas de Calais. They returned to more conventional targets from 8th June and bombed railway tunnels at Samur, used to bring men and supplies to Normandy, using the Barnes Wallis Tallboy bomb for the first time. On 14th and 15th they bombed E-boat pens at Le Havre and Boulogne. on 19th June 1944 they bombed a V-weapon store at Watten.

On 24th June 1944 Bill King set out on his 54th sortie, a daylight attack on V2 rocket storage at Wizernes. He took off at 1630 from RAF Woodhall Spa aboard Avro Lancaster Mk1 DV403 KC-B, armed with a Tallboy bomb,along with 16 other Lancasters from the Squadron, the target being marked by De Havilland Mosquitos.

There was more than usual apprehension from the crew about this particular raid. firstly they were flying a strange aircraft, there normal Lancaster had been grounded after a heavy landing, aircrews were often superstitious about a strange aircraft. There was known to be a flak emplacement on high ground above the V-2 store and this was a daylight raid, which was unsettling for the crew. A Spitfire fighter escort was promised and their Lancaster carried an extra gunner, making the compliment of the aircraft to 8.

They began their bombing run at just before 1700, on a straight and level approach the aircraft was hit by flak, and Bill King killed instantly. The port inner engine burst into flames and the pilot called for the crew to bail out. Two of the crew, the Navigator and the Bomb-aimer managed to bale out and became prisoners of war. Bill King's body was flung from the aircraft as it crashed in flames near the French village of Leulingham. The wireless operator was pulled from the wreckage with broken limbs as was one of the air gunners, but he died in hospital in St Omer a few hours later. The pilot and two other gunners both died in the crash. The Germans moved in quickly to secure the prisoners and remove the bodies, except Bill King whose body was not discovered until a few weeks later lying in a cornfield. later the three bodies were dumped at Leulingham church, where a local resistant worker arranged a funeral. The crew on Lancaster DV403 that day were;

Flight Lieutenant John Andrew Edwards DFC, aged 29, pilot, Royal Air Force. He was the son of Harold Westbrook and Harriet Emily Edward, of Willand, Devon. Killed in the crash and buried in Leulingham churchyard.

Pilot Officer Thomas Williard Percy Price, aged 20, Air gunner, Royal Canadian Air Force. He was the son of Willard and Edith Price of Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada. Killed in the crash and buried in Leulingham churchyard. He was the additional air gunner aboard.

Flight Sergeant Samuel Isherwood, aged 22, Air gunner, The Royal Air Force. he was the son of Lucy williams and was the husband of Mary Isherwood of New Springs, Lancashire. He was killed in the crash and is buried in Leulingham churchyard.

Flying Officer Leslie William John King DFC, aged 30, Flight Engineer, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. He was the son of William and Emily King of Enstone. He was killed by flak and is buried in Longuenesse St Omer Souvenir Cemetery in the Pas de Calais.

Flying Officer James Ian Johnston DFC, aged 26, Air gunner, Royal Canadian Air Force. He was the son of Craig and Jean Johnston and husband of Marian Johnston, of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He was pulled from the wreck alive but died a few hours later in St Omer hospital. He is buried in Longuenesse St Omer Souvenir Cemetery in the Pas de Calais.

Flight Sergeant Gerrard Hobbs, Wireless operator, was pulled from the wreckage and became a prisoner of war.

Flying Officer Lorne Thomas Pritchard, aged 22, Navigator, Royal Canadian Air Force. He came from Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada and baled out of the stricken Lancaster to become a prisoner of war.

Sergeant Jackie Brooks was the bomb-aimer and baled out of the stricken Lancaster to become a prisoner of war.

Flying Officer Leslie William John King is not on the town war memorial, but is due to be added this year. In a postscript to his service and a further link to the town, his flying log book was found when an old school at 28/30 New Street, Chipping Norton was being converted to recording studios in 1972.

MAURICE CHARLES KNIGHT was serving as a Corporal in the Royal Army Service Corps when he died on 22nd May 1944 aged 42 in Enstone. He is buried in Chipping Norton Cemetery. He was born in Church Enstone and married Ivy Gardner in 1931 in Chipping Norton. They lived at 3 Hailey Avenue, Chipping Norton with their three children.

JOE TAYLOR LIVESEY was serving as a Lieutenant with the 4th County of London Yeomanry (Sharpshooters), the Royal Armoured Corps when he was killed in action on 6th April 1943 aged 29, during the Tunisia campaign. He is buried in Sfax Military Cemetery in Tunisia and was the son of Richard and Clarissa Livesey of Golcar, Yorkshire. He had worked as an engineer at Bliss Mill in Chipping Norton from April 1933 to before the war. He is not on the town war memorial.

RICHARD HERBERT LOVICK was serving as a Musician with The Royal Marines Band aboard HMS Cleopatra when he died of his wounds on 16th July 1943 aged 22 when his ship was torpedoed by the Italian submarine Dandolo. He is commemorated on the Portsmouth Memorial for sailors with no known grave and was the son of Arthur and Rose Lovick, and born in Orsett, Essex. His father had served with the Royal Marines. He later moved to Chipping Norton where his parents had run the Blue Boar. He is not on the town war memorial.

HMS Cleopatra was a Dido class cruiser launched in 1940 and commissioned the following year. In 1942 she arrived in Gibraltar then sailed to Malta where she was damaged by a bomb. After repair, she was transferred to Alexandria in early March for the 15th Cruiser Squadron. She was Admiral Philip Vian's Flagship during the Second Battle of Sirtes, when his group of four light cruisers and 17 destroyers held off an Italian force which included the battleship Littorio, two heavy cruisers, a light cruiser and 10 destroyers, which had all been sent to intercept their convoy to Malta. During the engagement, Cleopatra´s radar and wireless stations were wrecked by a 6" round fired by an Italian light cruiser. In June 1942, she covered Operation Harpoon and Vigorous, and in August bombarded Rhodes as a diversion for the Operation Pedestal convoy. By January 1943, Cleopatra was part of Force "K", later Force "Q" at Bone, from where the Axis traffic to and from Tunisia was attacked. Later, she was a unit of the 12th Cruiser Squadron, and was present at the landings in Sicily, Operation Husky, in June, followed by supporting the army ashore. However, on 16 July 1943, Cleopatra was torpedoed by the Italian submarine Dandolo and again badly damaged, 30 of her crew were killed. Temporary repairs were made at Malta which lasted until October 1943, after which she sailed to Philadelphia, US, for full repairs.

NORMAN JOSEPH NAYLOR was serving as a Sergeant Air Gunner/Wireless Operator with the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve in 57 Squadron when he was killed in action 8th April 1942 aged 23. He is commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial, Surrey for aircrew with no known grave. He was the son of Joseph and May Naylor and lived at 34 Churchill Road Chipping Norton. Norman Naylor enlisted into the RAFVR on 26th February 1940 and after training as a wireless operator was promoted to Sergeant aircrew and posted to No 11 Operational Training Unit for night bomber training. On 6th November 1941 he joined 57 Squadron based at RAF Feltwell in Norfolk teaming up with a regular crew to fly the Vickers Wellington, then Bomber Command's front line aircraft. He flew on 11 sorties over Europe including raids on the Channel ports, Emden, Hamburg, Essen and the Deutch Works Shipyards. On the 8th April 1942 he and his crew took of from RAF Feltwell at 2205 in Wellington Mk111 X3757 DX-A, on an operation to Hamburg. The crew were;

Pilot Officer Noel Morse - Pilot, Royal New Zealand Air Force, aged 28, from Sydney, New South Wales.

The raid involving 272 aircraft was the largest number put up by the RAF thus far, made up of 177 Wellingtons, 41 Hampdens, 22 Stirlings, 13 Manchesters, 12 Halifaxes, 7 Lancasters. 4 Wellingtons and 1 Manchester were lost, including Wellington X3757 which disappeared at around 0400 without a trace in the Wilmshaven area, a victim of anti-aircraft fire or a night fighter.

ALBERT VICTOR NEWMAN was serving as a Corporal in the 1st Battalion, The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry when killed in action 16th July 1944 aged 28 at Cahier near Caen, during the second Battle of Odon. He is buried in Brouay War cemetery. He was the son of Charles and Edith Newman, was born in Little Compton and educated at Kingham Hill School. He married to Violet Stares in Chipping Norton in 1941.

The 1st Ox and Bucks landed on the Normandy beaches as part of the 71st Infantry Brigade after the 6th June. On 25 June Operation Epsom began, it's intention to take the town of Caen, a vital objective for the British. This proved to be a formidable town to capture and the operation was unsuccessful. However, it did divert significant numbers of Germans away from the Americans. The Germans counter-attacked and the 1st Ox and Bucks moved to positions around the Odon bridgehead where it suffered from heavy German artillery fire. The Allies launched further attempts to capture Caen, the first Allied troops entered the city on 9 July; by then, much of it had been destroyed. After holding the line the 1st Battalion's first major engagement with the enemy during the battle for Caen was the successful attack to capture the village of Cahier and a nearby mill.

ALBERT GEORGE PICKERING was serving as a Private with 4th (Territorial) Battalion. The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry when he was killed in action between 10th May and 26th June 1940 aged 21 whilst covering the evacuation from Dunkirk. He is buried in Bavinchove Churchyard near Dunkirk, one of only 8 Commonwealth graves there. (His grave is on the far right below) and include 5 other soldiers from his Battalion. He was the son of Frank and Rose Pickering of Chipping Norton.

The 4th Battalion Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry was a Territorial Army battalion sent to France in January 1940 to join the British Expeditionary Force as part of the 145th Brigade. They were overwhelmed by the Germans near Watou in Belgium, suffering many casualties and men taken prisoner.

OLIVER PLUNKETT was serving as a Pilot Officer (Navigator), Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve with No 3 School of General Reconnaissance when he was killed on active service on 16th August 1941. He was aged 26 and is buried in Holy Trinity Roman Catholic Churchyard, Chipping Norton.

Oliver Peter Plunkett was born in Dublin in March 1915 to parents Oliver and Cordelia Plunkett. His father was a member of the Irish bar and had served with distinction in the First World War, after which he joined the Colonial Service. He was Governor-General of St Lucia before becoming a Judge in Egypt and Palestine.

Oliver Plunkett emigrated to Argentina, sailing from London to Buenos Aires on the SS Stuart Star, a refrigerated cargo liner of the Blue Star Line, on 24th April 1937 in company with Kenneth Gadd. They were both working as fellmongers or fur dealers and Oliver was a member of Buenos Aires Rugby Union & Cricket Club.

Oliver Plunkett left Argentina on 23rd July 1940 and returned to England and joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. He was commissioned as a Pilot Officer and posted to No 3 School of General Reconnaissance as a Navigator under training, based at RAF Squires Gate Blackpool. They flew the 4 seat Blackburn B26 Botha Mk1, originally designed as a reconnaissance and torpedo bomber. The aircraft was underpowered and unstable and by the end of 1940 relegated to a training role. On 16th August 1941 he was aboard Botha L6315 on a training flight. On coming back into land at Squires Gate tha aircraft crashed on the approach to runway No1. The pilot was badly injured and taken to Victoria hospital. Oliver Plunkett, 26, along with fellow pupil navigator Pilot Officer Robert Simpson Hayward, 27, and wireless operator/observer Aircraftman 2nd class Charles Mair, 21, were killed in the crash.

Remembered on his grave stone is his younger brother Gerald Walter Plunkett who was born in Dublin in March 1918. He studied at St Johns College where he got a BA. He was serving as a Lieutenant with the 231st Light Anti-Aircraft Battery, the Royal Artillery when he was killed in action on 10th April 1943 during the campaign to drive Axis forces out of Tunisia. He was aged 23 and is buried in Sfax War Cemetery.

Oliver Plunkett is not on the town war memorial, but is due to be added this year.

DESMOND JOHN SIMS was serving as a Private in the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry when he was killed in action on 20th August 1944 aged 19 during the allied advance on Rome. He is buried in Assissi Military Cemetery and was the son of Hubert and Annie Sims of Chipping Norton.

NICHOLAS JOHN STOCKFORD was serving as a Sergeant with the Royal Air Force when he died on 18th September 1944 aged 22. He is buried in Heythrop Churchyard and was the husband of Joyce Stockford of Churchill. For his story see:

HARRY WILLIAM WILSON was serving as a Private with the 5th Battalion The Hampshire Regiment and was killed in action on 7th February 1944 aged 20, during the attack on Mount Cersola in Italy. Buried in Minturno Military Cemetery near Naples. He was the son of William and Emily Wilson of Chipping Norton.

PETER PATRICK WOOD was serving as a Flying Officer with the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve when he died on 10th April 1945 aged 25. He is buried in Khartoum War Cemetery. He married Alice Lilian Perry in Romford in the autumn of 1942. They lived at Midway Grange in Chipping Norton and had one daughter, Catherine born in 1944.

Some of the information and photographs on this page come from the Book of Remembrance in Chipping Norton Museum which was collected by Josephine Madge Byford (9/12/1919-9/2/1995).

Madge had served with The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry on an AA battery between 1939 and 1945. After the war ended she volunteered for the Red Cross, and worked to alleviate the suffering of women and children who had been incarcerated at Belsen concentration camp.